Thakoon / Spring 2012 RTW

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Barely four days into the New York Spring 2012 shows, and one impulse seems to be inexorably tugging the designers that have shown thus far in a sole direction: audaciously bold colorful prints, and plenty—repeat plenty—of them. Thakoon Panichgul, who has always been known for his skillful manipulation of vibrant patterns, and making them seem offhand and cool and rather wonderful (and wonderfully easy) to wear, is definitely in this camp, on the strength of a more-vivid-than-vivid collection (did anyone ever see a more turquoise turquoise? Nope), shown Sunday in the gilded splendor of the Plaza. You could think about retracing the steps that led us to this particular obsession in New York: Was it Balenciaga’s purple forties florals for this fall? Or Phoebe Philo bingeing on baroque blooms after a strict diet of sober minimalism for her Celine resort collection? Or Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci surfing toward Hawaiian blossoms way before anyone else had bothered to learn how to recognize an hibiscus? Who can say, and really, who cares? Suffice to say, there is a consensus amongst the city’s designers about what they’re going to be telling you come next spring, and it is this: You will wear Technicolor prints, and you will wear them head to toe.

What’s that noise? A timid shuffling backwards to consider the terms and conditions of the offer before accepting? No one would blame you. It’s a big commitment, this total and absolute print look. Panichgul is definitely all in favor of it, and he had some good renderings of it, mostly of a blown-up paisley (he envisaged that after thinking of an imaginary journey from the American West to India) or tiger lily florals, both in shades of searing orange, shocking pink, and deep emerald so intense they seemed to vibrate in the air. The paisley was used for a loose top falling to a peplum, worn with a floor-length tiered skirt, while the lilies appeared on a shrunken faded-denim edged jacket and skinny crop pants, and a silk shirt with a lamé collar paired with a full skirt in an ornate over-printed brocade that glistened like it was encrusted with beads.

All of these pieces were classic Thakoon, that is to say, perfect for that hip, knowing girl whose idea of prettiness isn’t that taken with the conventionally pretty. But, and there is a but, the one noticeable drawback to this collection was that Panichgul’s usual knack of making whatever is shown on his runway be able to walk off into real life wasn’t always fully engaged here. The show needed, amidst the relentless parade of exotic flora and paisley, a few more of his clever strategies as to how his girl might wear all this print with anything beyond the gold lamé banded khakis and one perfect, pin sharp black blazer.